DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Dallas-based national law firm of Baron & Budd, P.C., a leader in
pharmaceutical litigation, has filed the first lawsuit involving a form
of nerve damage known as peripheral neuropathy against pharmaceutical
companies which marketed a class of powerful antibiotics called
"fluoroquinolones" (FQs).

The most popular FQs, levofloxacin, moxifloxacin, and ciprofloxacin, are
sold under the trade names, respectively, of Levaquin®, Avelox®,
and Cipro®.

"FQs are one of the most heavily prescribed — and promoted — classes of
antibiotics," said Baron & Budd Attorney Thomas M. Sims. "They are still
frequently administered to deal with routine infections, although they
have been implicated in a whole host of serious side effects."

Sims noted that last year the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA),
which had received numerous reports of peripheral neuropathy (PN)
related to FQ use, ordered drug companies to change packaging inserts
for all FQs to add a warning. The FDA had cautioned that damage from PN,
which causes muscle weakness, numbness, and pain, could occur very soon
after the administration of FQ drugs — and that damage could be
permanent.

Now, one year after the FDA's August 15, 2013 announcement comes the
publication of a study in the medical journal Neurology
in which researchers have found that the use of oral FQs doubles the
risk of developing PN among patients who have recently taken one of
these drugs. This represents the first published epidemiological
research to evaluate the risk of PN among patients who had been
prescribed FQs. The study evaluated nearly one million male FQ patients
aged 45 to 80 during the period from 2001 to 2011.

"Fluoroquinolones have become increasingly popular among physicians for
the treatment of routine infections," Sims observed. "Pharmaceutical
companies have heavily marketed fluoroquinolones to doctors as a
cure-all. The unfortunate reality is that the best medical evidence
clearly indicates the prescription of such potent antibiotics should be
limited to the treatment of serious infections."

Sims noted that more than 23 million patients in 2011 (the last year for
which figures are available) had received a prescription of an FQ
antibiotic.

He also pointed out that the FDA warning about possible PN side effects
in the use of FQs was not the first warning. "Actually, the FDA's 2013
order was an update to a 2004 label in which the manufacturers cautioned
that peripheral neuropathy could be a side effect of this class of
antibiotics," he said. "In the 2004 label, however, many of the
manufacturers went on to note that there was no risk of permanent damage
if the patient simply stopped taking the drug. Last year's order was
handed down because the FDA determined that the manufacturers' existing
label did not adequately warn physicians or their patients about the
risk of permanent nerve damage."

In 2014 Baron & Budd began accepting cases involving Levaquin, Avelox,
and Cipro. Baron & Budd founder Russell Budd noted that its initial
case, which is believed to be the first-ever litigation against U.S.
pharmaceutical manufacturers for FQ-induced peripheral neuropathy, was
filed August 6, 2014 in San Francisco in the U.S. District Court for the
Northern District of California. Other filings have since followed, he
added.

"The study recently published in Neurology is validation for
the many victims of fluoroquinolones who have struggled to be taken
seriously and are now afflicted with severe and irreversible peripheral
neuropathy," Budd said. "They took what they thought was a safe
medicine. We hope this study puts a spotlight on the terrible damage
that this class of drugs can cause."

"The tragedy is that so many of these plaintiffs could have been cured
with a less risky antibiotic," Sims echoed. "But, because
fluoroquinolones have been overpromoted for so long, people who turned
to their doctors for the treatment of a simple sinus or urinary tract
infection developed a far worse illness than the one they sought
treatment for in the first place."

About Baron & Budd, P.C.

With a history of more than 35 years of "Protecting What's Right" for
individuals, communities, and governmental entities, Baron & Budd, P.C.,
is devoted to making a meaningful difference in the lives of Americans.
With law offices in Dallas, Austin, Los Angeles, and Baton Rouge, Baron
& Budd is renowned for tackling complex cases in the litigation sectors
of harmful drugs, dangerous medical devices, environmental
contamination, financial fraud, and deceptive advertising.